Blog #3: McKinney Teen Pool Party

As I watched the various news channels and coverage of the McKinney pool party that took this past week, it has been a struggle to voice any personal opinion. Most of the general public see this as another act of police violence against a minority group. Anyone who seems to have an opinion otherwise is publicly disparaged, including death threats being made against them.

In the firestorm of a degraded social structure, it is too easy to jump on the racism and police brutality bandwagon. I do agree there are many such incidents hot on the media agenda and American minds: Ferguson, Baltimore and violent outbreaks in many major cities across America.

How do the rest of us move forward as peace keepers and officers are no longer able to do their job and protect the public?  How can they when every move they make is captured on video, dissected by the public, and propagated as attacks by the media. Do we now buy extra locks for our doors, board up our windows, and barricade ourselves into the forced prison of our homes? Should every American now buy a gun in order to simply protect our right to live, to make it to the grocery store safely, to drop off our kids at school, to go to the movie theatre, or enjoy a meal out with friends?

The varying positions of CNN, BBC, FOX, NBC, CBS and MSN have been almost a collective powerhouse as it focused all attention on McKinney and formed opinions in the minds of the world for us. News media covers few topics and most often at a superficial level. They are constrained by time limits and ratings. Many complex news topics that warrant much more attention are shown in a scroll and sound bits along the bottom of the screen, often ignored by most. Anyone with a cell phone is now a self-proclaimed reporter, and the public gobbles every juicy bit as fast as possible. The rule of thumb has become report it now, even if it is not factual, and apologize about it later. The world has come to accept this standard, what does that say about humanity? There was a point in time when news broadcasters were bound by a law known as the Fairness Doctrine which required broadcasters to give equal time to opposing views of controversial topics. What would the news be like now if this law were still in effect? Would the pubic be able to make up its own mind or still allow the perceived dominating intellect to control our minds for us like they do now? Profit is the fundamental goal of any business and be assured, news is a business ready to twist our minds to make money. Check out this article on freepress.net, as well as the PBS report on seven massive media giants that control the news; we live under the "illusion of choice."

My opinion on McKinney? Let's just say I am in the minority; this is not about racism or over-abuse of power. Regardless of race, sex, creed, religion, etc., you respect the law or you face the consequences. I almost never listen to FOX News, as they are noted to be one of the most conservative news outlets with an intense bias toward one side, however I do agree with what Hannity stated this week:

"If you see an officer in the process of doing his job, you cannot come in behind him or at an angle that he can't see you. ... You've got to understand his mindset. He doesn't know if you have a gun, he doesn't know if you have a knife. You're right in his grill, you're within two feet of him. And that's a dangerous position to put yourself in..."